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Peisch: Repealing Common Core Would Be a Huge Mistake

Massachusetts is no stranger to education battles these days and often it’s all we can do not to bang our heads against the wall when we hear legislators speak in platitudes or openly pander to special interests instead of carving out bold positions that are in the best interest of public school children in the Commonwealth.But today, there will be no head banging, at least not over Representative Alice Peisch, House Chairwoman of the Education Committtee, who boldly came out and stated unequivocally that repealing the Common Core would be a mistake.

“If that ballot question were to pass, that is six years of work that will be irrelevant,” Peisch told members of local school committees on Tuesday. She said, “I think it would be a huge mistake for a ballot question to determine what students learn.”

If the legislature doesn’t act by May 4th on the issue of Common Core, it is likely to appear on the ballot in November. While her Co-Chair, Sonia Chang-Diaz of Jamaica Plain, was a bit more measured in her comments, she too says she’s “disinclined” to vote for the proposal.

“For folks who are worried about losing self-determination as a state over our own curriculum frameworks, there’s nothing about the Common Core that prevents us from doing that,” Chang-Diaz said. She said she has “trouble understanding” the “content-based objection” to Common Core.

It’s a relief to know that the co-chairs of the Education Committee on Beacon Hill are seemingly aligned on the side of higher uniform standards that ensure that all students are well served and will help reduce the 30+ percent remediation rate of Massachusetts college freshmen. Representative Peisch is an example to all lawmakers when it comes to speaking boldly and unequivocally about hugely consequential education decisions that face the Baystate.